Typewriter carriage position indicator



Sept. 22, 1959 c. E. DE CLERCK 2,905,307

TYPEWRITER CARRIAGE POSITION INDICATOR Filed March 29, 1957 2,905,307TYPEWRITER CARRIAGE rosrrron INDICATOR Oharles-E. De Cler'ck; Elnshing,N.Y., assignor to'iHazelti'ne. Research; Inc.-,v Chicago IlL, acorporation of Illinois Application March'29,:1"9 57,"Serial N6. 6495482:.Claimsz; (Glu197- 187) This invention relates to a typewritercarriage positionindicati'ng device. This device is particularly usefulfor simplifying conventional j'i'lstifyir'ig procedures whereby theright-hand margin of typewrittencop'y ismade uniform.Justifyingmarginsis commonly used in applicat'ions when distinctivelookingcorrespondence is required.

One procedure for justifying the right-hand margin requires thepreparation ofadr'aftcopy prior to the final copy. In the course ofpreparing the draft, notations are made which instruct the typist of.the proper. adjustment in line length required for producing a uniformmargin on the final copy; This procedure, because it entails doubletyping, is laborious. In addition, the present means by which thecorrective notations are. obtained is awkward and inaccurate. Theoperator is, therefore, required to exercise great care and;concentration in deriving these. corrective notations. Operator fatigueis, therefore, very common. The present invention, while not .modifyingthe basic conventional procedure, eliminates the most awkward step inthe procedure and results in greater accuracy with less fatigue on thepart of the operator- A brief discussion of the conventional procedure"and a description of how the present invention facilitates itsperformance will be discussed hereafter.

It is an object of thein'vention to provide an inexpensive attachment totypewriter machines which wil1I'facili-' tate the justification of theright-hand margin on typewritten copy, without substantiallyinterferingwith normal operation of the typewriter.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an accurate andefiicient means for justifying the right-hand margin on typewrittencopy.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a typewritercarriage position indicator comprising an indicating means, an actuatingmeans for engaging the typewriter carriage and whose movement isrepresentative of the typewriter carriage travel and aninclined planefastened to the actuating means for translating the motion of theactuating means to the indicating means for recording on. the indicatingmeans the position of the typewriter carriage with respect toaprescribed reference.

For a better understanding of the present. invention, together withother and further objects thereof, reference is-had to thefollowingdescription taken. in connection with the accompanying drawing,and its. scopewill be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of apparatus embodying the present inventionin. a particularform;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of a portion of. theFig. 1 embodiment, and Fig.3 is a fragmentary view of a prior art device and is useful indescribing .the operationof the.Fig..1 embodiment.v

Referring tosFig. 1 there is shownazp'erspective .view of a. typewritercarriage position-indicating device embodying theprinciples of thisinvention. The typewriter carriage position-indicating.deviceincludesatypewriter carnited States Patent 2 riage position indicator 10comprising anindicatingmeans 11;: The. indicatingmeans. 11 isrepresented inFig, 1. as a conventional dial indicatingdevice includingan indicator .dial 12,..a-spring-loa-ded plunger 13, neck 41, and a finezerdadjustmeans 14.v Inzone applicationofthe Fig. 1 embodiment, a dialindicatorFederal modehGSI with: a. modified .C3W balanced dial. was.used effectively. Dial indicating means llioperates. inaconventionalman: ner. to amplify the travel of theplunger 13 to register-on theindicating .dial. 12.themagnitude. of the .travelzof plunger 13..-

The. typewriter carriage position-indicating-:device.10 also includesan. actuatingmeans 27 forengaging, the typewriter carriage. and whosemovementis representative of the typewriter: carriage .traveL. Theactuating means 27 comprises-a rigid elongated member 29;. at one endof. which is an offset. member 30'. In the alternative, the..olf.-. set30 may pivot aboutthe end of the elongated member 29 for storage and' bespring-loaded so. that it. cannot .be rotated parallel to elongatedmember 29- in use.

A rectangular b1ock.31, preferably metal,.is attached to. the right endof carriage .32, engaging offset 30 of actuat-. ing means 27 during-atleast a. portion of its traveL, The size and location of block 31, aredetermined by this, function. Thetypewriter carriageposition-indicatingde-v vicje 10 also includes means for translating themotionv of .the actuating n1eans.27'to the indicating means 11 for.recording, on the indicating means. 11, the position of the typewritercarriage with respect to a prescribed refer-. once. The translatingmeans includes a, block 15., prefer: ably metal, constructed to performseveral functions in. the operation. of the Fig. l embodiment. On theupper. surface of block 15 there is inserted a .thumbscrew .16.v

The surface opposite that. containing the thumbscrew. is. constructed inthe form of a guide rail 19'. Coaxial. with the longitudinal axis ofblock 15 is an aperture1 7. Actuating means 27 is. inserted in aperture17' and fastened to block 15. by tighteningthumbscrew 16.. An.inclin,e.dplane 20 is constructed on. oneof the remaining surfaces of 'block'15.The angle of the inclined plane 20 is. pro.-. portioned in accordancewith the amplificationfactor of. dial indicating means 11 to adjust theamplification of the movement of the actuating device to plunger 13. Anassumed slope .of 0.160 inch per inch of length. coupled with, the.Federal G81 indicator. and the modified CZW dial develops a gain of ten.An amplification of ten was found to be adequate.

The translating means further includes a base meme ber 22. forsupporting the indicating dial 12 and block 15. The base member 22includes an aperture 23. through which is inserted the fixed section ofplunger 13.. The base member 22 also includes a slot 24, preferablyparallel to thetop. surface of base 22,. from one edge of base 22 to thecircumference of. the aperturev 23. A- screw ZS-completes the. means forfasteningdial indicat ing means. 11 to base. 22. The fasteningoperation-is accomplished by inserting the fixed section of neck ,4 in:aperture2-3. Subsequently, screw'25. is actuated to-compress the smalldimension of slot 24,.closing aperture23 about neck4l, thereby'cl'ampingthe dial indicating means 11 to base 22. Base 22 further includes aguide recess 26 constructed in conformance with the cross-sectionalconfiguration of guide rail 19. One side of guide recess 26 includes athin rectangular piece of bar stock 28- which maybe readily adjustedlaterally to adjust for varying tolerances in the construction of guiderecess 26.

Referring now to Fig. 2, there is shown a spring mechanism for returningblocklS to its extreme right setting, asrepresented by the dottedoutline37', after each operation of the typewriter carriage. The resetmechanismv includes a screw 36. which is fastened to the underside ofbase 22. The reset mechanism further includes a peg 33 which is fastenedto the undersurface of guide rail 19 in block 15. Peg 38 is inserted ina slot 34 which is constructed in the underside of base 22. Spring 37connects peg 38 to screw 36 thereby providing a reset action for block15.

A sheet metal bracket 40 is provided for fastening the typewritercarriage position-indicating device to the top cover 42 of thetypewriter.

As heretofore discussed, a widely used conventional procedure forjustifying the right-hand margin requires a high degree of concentrationand often precipitates fatigue in the operator. The conventionalprocedure will now be discussed in detail in order to facilitate theunderstanding of the present invention. After inserting the paper in thetypewriter, the operator determines the length of line she wishes tohave justified and positions the carriage at the exact location of thisright-hand margin. To the right of the carriage position is found ascale, graduated in units and provided with a V notch at one of thegraduations. In Fig. 3 there is represented a particular stationaryscale which includes the V-type notch just described. The next step isfor the operator to take a sharp pencil and insert the point in the V-type notch provided on the scale. The V notch occurs to the right of thepoint to which the carriage has been positioned. The operator nowproceeds to draw a vertical line down the length of the paper by turningthe platen of the typewriter upward. This line thereby becomes areference point for the V-type notch. The first step in preparing ajustified manuscript is to type a rough draft ignoring to some extentthe necessity for making a uniform margin. The operator proceeds to typeout a single line. The operator then proceeds to note, at thetermination of this line, the position of the V notch with respect tothe reference line previously drawn. If the V notch falls to the rightof the vertical line, the type line is too long and must subsequently bedecreased in the finished manuscript if the margin is to be madeuniform. The magnitude by which the line must be decreased is determinedby counting the number of divisions on the scale separating thereference line from the V notch. The number of divisions is then notedalongside the typewritten line. In the present example, it is precededby a minus sign. The minus sign informs the operator that the line istoo long and must be shortened on the final copy. On the other hand, ifthe V notch at the end of the typewritten line falls to the left of thereference line, the typewritten line is too short and must be expandedin the finished copy of the manuscript. Again, the extent by which thisexpansion is computed is for the operator to count the number of unitsbetween the reference line and the V notch on the left of the referenceline. Once again, a notation is made to the right of the typewrittenline. However, this time the notation is preceded by a plus signindicating that an expansion is required. Should the V notch, at the endof a typewritten line, fall exactly on the previously drawn referenceline, the operator is thereby informed that no adjustment is necessary.

Margin justification is used in conjunction with typewriters employingproportional spacing. On the proportional spacing typewriter, unlike theconventional typewriter, each character is automatically given thecorrect spacing in accordance with its width. For example, in onesystem, the unit of space is of an inch wide and each character isallocated one or more units in accordance with its width. In thisparticular system, the i is allocated two units and the m is allocatedfive. It is, therefore, possible, with a proportional spacingtypewriter, to expand or contract a typewritten line by the addition orsubtraction of unit spaces between sentences and words. A correction offive units in the length of a line requires a total adjustment of merely7 32 of an inch. Consequently, a skilled operator ,is

capable of adjusting the length of a line without sacrificing theappearance of that line as seen by the reader.

The present invention is particularly directed towards facilitating thatportion of the procedure in which the operator is required to determinethe magnitude of expansion or contraction required. At present, theoperator must locate the V slot and count scale divisions to thereference line. These scale divisions are & of an inch apart and oftennot readily distinguishable. It is, therefore, awkward to derive theproper corrections. Often, when making erasures, the paper movesrelative to the roller thereby necessitating a realignment of thereference line and the V notch. The typewriter carriageposition-indicating device 10 operates to automatically indicate at theend of each typewritten line the magnitude of correction required and,in addition, the direction in which that correction must be made,positive or negative. Because the calibration is independent of thepaper, it is unaffected by minor movements of the paper on the roller.The first step is to align the typewriter position-indicating device 10in conformance with the point at which the right-hand margin is to bemade uniform. This is done by positioning the carriage 32 at the exactlocation of the right-hand margin. Thumbscrew 16 on block 15 isloosened, permitting the parallel movement of actuating device 27 untiloffset 30 is in contact with block 31. The block 15 is then positionedwith respect to dial indicating means 11 so that the plunger 13 isapproximately in the center of inclined plane 20 and the dialapproximately reads zero. Thumbscrew 16 is then tightened, fastening theblock 15 and actuating means 27 in this fixed position. A fine zeroadjustment on the indicator dial 12 may be made by operating the fineadjustment screw 14 on dial indicator device 11. In making this initialadjustment, block 15 and, corresponding ly, peg 38 are positioned in thecenter of their travel.

What has been accomplished by the foregoing is to initially adjust thetypewriter carriage position-indicating device 10 so that it reads zeroat the exact location of the right-hand margin. A movement of carriage32 either to the right or the left will cause a corresponding movementin actuating means 27. A movement to the left of carriage will causeblock 31 to further move actuating means 27 to the left. A movement tothe right of carriage 32 will cause block 31 to release its pressure onactuating means 27 and enable spring 37 to reset block 15 until contactis once again made between block 31 and actuating means 27. In aproportional spacing machine, the carriage moves a distancecorresponding to the number of units allocated for the particularcharacter activated. For example, if the letter m were typed, thecarriage would move five units to the left. This would cause block 31 tomove actuating means 27 five units to the left. The movement of theactuating means 27, to the left, for example, is coupled to inclinedplane 20 causing plunger 13 of dial indicator device 11 to be compresseda distance corresponding to the movement of carriage 32. This movementis amplitied and registered as a negative five on indicator dial 12. Itis to be emphasized that initial contact between block 31 and actuatingmeans is made prior to the time the carriage is positioned at the exactlocation of the right-hand margin. Consequently, when the carriage ispositioned at the extreme right, the dial indicator will read at themaximum positive value on indicating dial 12. As the operator proceedsin typing a line, the carriage moves from right to left and eventuallyblock 31 engages actuating means 27. From this point, the dialindicator, starting at the maximum positive reading, decreases towardszero and, should the carriage proceed past the location of theright-hand margin, continues in a negative direction. Accordingly, theoperator at the end of each line merely has to glance at indicating dial12 to note the required correction. The value shown on indicating dial12 is noted, as in the conventional system, to the right of thetypewritten line. A final copy may now be produced in the conventionalmanner.

The procedure just described has been found to be simple and accurate.The typewriter carriage positionindicating device using a rigidactuating means may be disabled in the event the operator does not wishto justify the righthand margin. This may be simply accomplished byloosening thumbscrew 16 and rotating actuating means 27 so that oifset30 cannot come in contact with block 31 during the full travel ofcarriage 32. On the other hand, the modified offset capable of beingpivoted may be rotated to a position parallel to the carriage 32, thusavoiding contact with block 31.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be thepreferred embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be madetherein without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore,aimed to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A typewriter carriage position indicator comprising: an indicatingmeans; an actuating means for engaging the typewriter carriage and whosemovement is representative of the typewriter carriage travel; and aninclined plane fastened to said actuating means for translating themotion of the actuating means to the indicating means for recording onthe indicating means the position of the typewriter carriage withrespect to a prescribed reference.

2. A typewriter carriage position indicator comprising: a dialindicating means including a spring-loaded plunger; an actuating meanscomprising a rigid elongated member parallel to the typewriter carriagewith a right angle offset at one end, said offset for engaging thetypewriter carriage, the movement of said actuating means beingrepresentative of the typewriter carriage travel; and an inclined planeconnected to said actuating means and in contact with said plunger fortranslating the motion of the actuating means to the plunger of saidindicating means for recording on the indicating means the position ofthe typewriter carriage with respect to a prescribed reference, wherebymargin justification is simplified.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS DodgeSept. 3, 1940 Dodge Dec. 10, 1940 Hodson May 30, 1950

